CINCINNATI (WXIX) – The Ohio Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 86 Wednesday, aimed at restricting sales of intoxicating hemp products.
Lawmakers say it’s a step to put rules in place for products currently not regulated.
The bill would still allow these hemp products to be sold, but only at licensed marijuana dispensaries, which only cater to customers 21 and older.
Lawmakers’ concerns are that these products can be sold in places where kids can buy them, like gas stations, because they’re unregulated.
Critics say, however, that this change could hurt small businesses.
“Due to a lack of regulations, the intoxicating hemp industry has been able to confuse Ohio consumers and law enforcement by marketing themselves as dispensaries with recreational marijuana,” said Sen. Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City).
Senate Bill 86 would:
Require intoxicating hemp products to be sold at dispensaries.Classify intoxicating hemp as anything inhaled or ingested with more than 0.5 milligrams of delta-9 THC per serving, 2 milligrams of delta-9 THC per package or 0.5 milligrams of other THC per package. (This wouldn’t include lotion or other topicals).Tax a dispensary’s intoxicating hemp sales at 10% and impose a $3.50-per-gallon excise tax on THC beverages. The money from both taxes would go into the state’s general bank account.Allow breweries, restaurants and other licensed retailers to sell drinks with no more than 0.42 milligrams of THC per ounce. Individual servings would be capped at 12 ounces.Criminalize driving under the influence of an intoxicating hemp product and having an open THC drink in the vehicle.
“It’s written as a regulatory bill, but because the THC limits are so strict, it’s essentially a prohibition bill,” said Jim Higdon, co-founder of Cornbread Hemp.
Higdon says he supports safety regulations, but he believes these restrictions will devastate small businesses and limit consumer access to legal, federally approved products.
“Dispensaries are not going to carry non-intoxicating CBD products with a little THC,” Higdon said. “Real estate inside those dispensaries are really tight and their customers are looking for full-strength marijuana.”
Under current law, those products, derived from hemp and protected under the federal Farm Bill, can be sold just about anywhere in the state.
The bill would also allow breweries, restaurants and other licensed retailers to sell cannabis-infused drinks, but with no more than point-42 milligrams of THC per ounce.
“Consumers want easy, safe access to these products. It’s important for the government and the regulatory side to ensure no one under 21 is getting their hands on these products, but barring that, commerce should flow freely, there should be a free market here,” Higdon said.
The bill now heads to the Ohio House for further consideration, where Republicans have offered their own proposal for regulating hemp.
The House must consider Senate Bill 86 before it heads to Ohio Governor DeWine’s desk.
House lawmakers have proposed their own ideas for hemp, including a bill that would allow any retailer to sell products if they get a special license.
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The bill has been passed by the Senate and now heads to the House for further consideration. Read More
